Washington Huskies: Scouting November 20 Opponent Colorado
The Washington Huskies face their toughest challenge this week. Not only will square off against Colorado they’ll be doing it without their head coach. Here’s what else they’re up against.
The big news around the Washington campus was announced on Sunday head coach Jimmy Lake was fired. Defensive coach Bob Gregory will coach the remainder of the season and the Huskies will do a nationwide search. Now we will hear speculation who that coach will be. I have to say this has to go back to the first game of the season when the Huskies lost to Montana 13-7. Jimmy Lake didn’t take the game seriously enough or he really wasn’t much of a head coach. There has been no doubt a great defensive coach but that doesn’t mean he could turn into a good head coach. We wish him the best wherever he goes.
The Colorado Buffaloes are having a worse season than the Huskies if you can believe it. They have a 2-5 record in the conference and 3-7 overall. They are in fifth place in the South division only Arizona is worse. Colorado opened the season beating North Colorado 35-7. They lost four straight before beating Arizona who hadn’t won a game at that point. Three weeks later Colorado upset Oregon State 37-34 for their only wins. So, they are capable of beating Washington. Especially how they have struggled this season.
The Washington Huskies lead the series between them and Colorado Buffaloes 12-6 with one tie. Colorado won the last outing, 20-14 at home, on November 23, 2019. The Huskies had won nine straight games before then including the Pac-12 Championship on December 12, 2016.
The Colorado Buffaloes are led by freshman quarterback Brendon Lewis who has passed for 1344 yards with 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Unlike other quarterbacks the Huskies have faced in the Pac-12 he doesn’t run as much. Lewis is 4th on the Buffaloes in rushing with 143 yards and one touchdown.
Skill Position
The Buffaloes are led in rushing by sophomore Jarek Broussard who has 130 carries for 618 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Alex Fontenot is number two with 298 yards on 83 carries. Fontenot is the primary runner when going for touchdowns near the end zone with five. The third running back is sophomore Deion Smith who has 44 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Colorado’s leading receiver is freshman Brenden Rice with 21 receptions for 299 and three downs. He is followed by junior tight-end Brady Russell with 20 receptions for 264 yards, however, no touchdowns. Third, in receiving is junior wide Daniel Arias with 15 catches for 206 yards and one touchdown.
Defense
On the defensive side, Nate Landman, a senior linebacker, leads in tackles with 63 along with one forced fumble. He led the Buffaloes last year in their abbreviated season. Fellow linebacker, a junior, Carson Wells second in tackles last year is seventh this year but leads the team in sacks with 3.5. Sophomore safety Mark Perry is second in tackles with 55 tackles and two interceptions.
Right behind is junior safety Isaiah Lewis with 54 tackles and two interceptions. Together Perry and Lewis have four of Buffaloes’ six pickoffs on the season. Another linebacker, Quinn Perry, a junior, is fourth in tackles with 52. Next in line are cornerbacks freshman Christian Gonzales with 43 tackles and junior Mekhi Blackmon with 38.
The top defensive lineman in tackles is sophomore Jalen Sami with 18 and has one sack. Buffaloes are giving up 184 yards on the ground while 234 through the air. The Huskies should start with the running game then get the passing game going. The question though right now is who will start at quarterback and at running back for the Huskies. Go Dawgs!
Check with us after the game for our Washington Huskies takeaways.